North Mountain, a wildland in the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests of western Virginia, has been recognized by the Wilderness Society as a special place worthy of protection from logging and road construction.

The Appalachian Mountains were extensively timbered in the early twentieth century leaving logging roads that are becoming overgrown but still passable.

[5] Old logging roads and railroad grades can be located by consulting the historical topographic maps available from the United States Geological Survey (USGS).

[1][2] Unusual flora and fauna found in the area include a globally rare shrub, the pirate bush; vascular plants, the small spreading pogonia and sword-leaved phlox; and an invertebrate the orangefin madtom.

Table mountain pine requires fire to regenerate because it has serotinous cones that need heat to open and disperse its seeds.

The rule provided some degree of protection by reducing the negative environmental impact of road construction and thus promoting the conservation of roadless areas.

[1] North Mountain was inventoried in the roadless area review, and therefore protected from possible road construction and timber sales.

Along the Wildlife Road there are areas of "Early Successional Habitat", and a section in Roanoke County is designated "Source Water Protection".